Chillies - No Heat!

[George M]

Hi everyone. I grew some Cayenne Thick chillis last year from a very old out of date packet. They grew really well, really big fat red chillis but they might as well have been red peppers becasue there was absolutely no heat in them at all. I bought some fresh seed this year, hoping that the problem was due to the seed being out of date. Growing well so far, the fruit is coming and I couldnt resist taking a little bite out of one of them Nothing. is this because they are still green, and the heat comes later? What might I be doing wrong? Any suggestions gratefully received.

[Samurailord]

Hi George

You probably looked after your chillis too well last year - if you keep them well watered they just dont produce any heat - withold the water until they are actually drooping, then water well. this should give you the heat you are looking for.

The heat in all chilis develops as they ripen, so the redder they are the hotter they are too.

Dont give up on your chillis yet, just use a bit ledd TLC and treat them mean, like you don't care

Andy

[Scarlet]

You've already got ripe chillies? Where are you growing them? Cayennes are ripe when they are red. As the chilli matures it will get hotter.

[George M]

Ah, I am just being too nice to my little plants! I will withhold all privileges forthwith :/ Thanks for the advice.

They are not ripe yet, some are just about 3 inches long, still green (on a hot windowsill)

[BertieFox]

Heat definitely develops later when they ripen and most of the heat is actually in the seeds, which is why you de-seed some of the very hottest kinds. If you have seed from a controlled source, I am a little surprised that you are experiencing some which are not hot. We have had this with home collected seed for Espelette type peppers, with some hot and some 'sweet', but most of the hot types like Cayenne have always been very spicy. They certainly get hotter the more they ripen and being grown in a hot sunny climate helps.

[darcyvuqua]

Yeah withhold water and it will knock your head off

[KarlB924]

Chillies definitely need some stress to heat up, plus bear in mind all of the capsaicin is in the placenta (the bit that holds the seeds, the seeds themselves aren't hot, just a little bitter), so if you want to gauge the heat of the chilli don't just nibble the tip

[darcyvuqua]

Chillies definitely need some stress to heat up, plus bear in mind all of the capsaicin is in the placenta (the bit that holds the seeds, the seeds themselves aren't hot, just a little bitter), so if you want to gauge the heat of the chilli don't just nibble the tip

Hahaha omg nibble the tip I just nearly spat my cuppa tea everywhere!

I thought this was a family forum

[Paul Bromley]

Hi all newbie,

Just concerned now that I have bought the Chilligrow self watering system to look after mine whilst I am away, will this naturally keep the chillies less hot than they should be, I guess I could let it dry out as they fruit, the plants look healthy but from reading your comments guess they may be too healthy ? They were sown 1st Jan 2014.

[Scarlet]

No - don't worry about it. You can keep your plant on the dry side prior to picking the fruit though to be honest I'm not really sure it makes that much of a difference! I water mine when they look dry, never really worried about overwatering and my chillies are usually hot enough. If cayennes aren't hot enough for your taste buds grow a hotter variety. Although, as another poster has said, tasting the tip of a chilli isn't a test of the heat that you can expect from the rest of it. I only pick chillies when they are ripe, never green and all of it gets used.

Plants look great Paul, what variety are they?

[Paul Bromley]

Jalapeño and Ring of Fire I have made them tolerate outside temps now as she was getting fed up with the house like a jungle !!

[Scarlet]

Ha! I'm the boss in my house so I get to keep my plants indoors but I don't get much say then when he fixes his push bike in the living room.

[Altai]

Hahaha omg nibble the tip I just nearly spat my cuppa tea everywhere!

I thought this was a family forum

Omg I actually didn't react to that until I read your comment ... Some people do have a dirty mind. Roflmao! XD

I had the same problem as George M had, though. I have grown chillies from seeds from a piri piri fruit that I had bought at the supermarket. From the seeds I got really many plants, of which I have four left in my apartment, all of which but one that have borne fruit now. As a couple of the chillies turned red, I cut two of them off from one of the plants and tasted them. No heat at all! Could as well have been really small bell peppers. Not even the seeds were hot. And they had turned read!

Now, I just cut off another chillie from the largest of my plants. This one was also red but also a bit wrinkly (the previous ones were not wrinkly at all). This one was really hot; I had actually difficulties finishing it! :P Do they also have to become a bit wrinkly to be hot, or was this just a coincidence?

[KarlB924]

The super hot varieties are often wrinkly, but it's not always an indicator of heat in itself

[Scarlet]

Chillies can vary in heat on the plant, often later in the season they are hotter. Although taking seed from a fruit from the market is a gamble in itself! You don't know whether it may have cross pollinated or is an F1 variety so will not turn out like the fruit that it was taken from. I like to know what I'm growing and for that reason if I want a hot chilli I would look at the super hot varieties and buy seed for that. Thereafter I will save the seed ensuring that the plant has been isolated.